Before Elmira

 

The area that is now Elmira was once known by the Native American name of Shinedowa or “at the Great Plains.” The land near the mouth of Newtown Creek is a broad plain or flat that extends north, west, and south. The land could be reached from the south by river and from the north and west by the valley that leads up toward Seneca Lake. The area was long recognized as a good spot for settlement.

 

Before white settlers arrived, there was the Seneca village of Kanaweola where the Newtown Creek empties into the Chemung River. The village had about 20 houses and many acres of corn. During the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign of 1779, soldiers burned the village, destroyed the fields, and built Fort Reid on the site.